Book Description

A collection of shorts essays on Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET by author, actor, and director David Blixt, exploring the comedic nature of the show, the famed Balcony Scene, and the origin to the Capulet-Montague feud - an idea which sparked Blixt's highly-acclaimed Star-Cross'd series.

A collection of shorts essays on Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET by author, actor, and director David Blixt, exploring the comedic nature of the show, the famed Balcony Scene, and the origin to the Capulet-Montague feud - an idea which sparked Blixt's highly-acclaimed Star-Cross'd series.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The essays in
this collection are based on my theatrical experience. I've been incredibly
lucky to work with some of the best directors and performers of Shakespeare in
the world. To them I can say only thanks, and thanks.

About the Author

Author, actor, director, playwright, and fight director David Blixt shares his views on Shakespeare's masterpiece of star-cross'd love. An Artistic Associate at the Michigan Shakespeare Festival and co-founder of A Crew Of Patches Theatre Company, a Shakespearean repertory troupe, David has performed, directed, or choreographed over 25 productions of Romeo & Juliet over the last 20 years. His original ideas about the nature of the play as well as the origin of the famous feud have garnered international attention, and spawned an entire series of novels, beginning with THE MASTER OF VERONA (2007). David lives in Chicago with his wife, Jan, whom he met onstage - performing Shakespeare.

I'd read a lot of Shakespeare essays, to the point of becoming bored. Yes. How refreshing to find some new thinking on R and J--and Macbeth as well. AND the essays are entertaining. Side bar: If you get the chance to see Mr. Blixt's play about Caesar, Eve of Ides, GO! Blixt "gets" Shakespeare--whoever he was. I'd love to see him research the Oxford theory. I'm about to take on Master of Verona. Just needed to clear some time for it because it's long, and, since I now really appreciate Mr. Blixt's work, I want to give it the attention it no doubt deserves. To sum up: Read this author, see his play(s?).

Romeo and Juliet is not one of my favorites, but this book made me look at it in a completely different way. I have found David Blixt to be very witty in his other books, and this one did not disappoint. He understands that unrelenting tragedy is not what the playwright or audience wants. His viewpoint is novel, well considered, and welcomes the humor that is naturally part of the text. This book will be enjoyed by any student of Shakespeare, and especially any high school student who is reading the play because it is assigned.

More About the Author

Author and playwright David Blixt's work is consistently described as "intricate," "taut," and "breathtaking." A writer of Historical Fiction, his novels span the early Roman Empire (the COLOSSUS series, his play EVE OF IDES) to early Renaissance Italy (the STAR-CROSS'D series, including THE MASTER OF VERONA, VOICE OF THE FALCONER, and FORTUNE'S FOOL) up through the Elizabethan era (his delightful espionage comedy HER MAJESTY'S WILL, starring Will Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe as inept spies). His novels combine a love of the theatre with a deep respect for the quirks and passions of history. As the Historical Novel Society said, "Be prepared to burn the midnight oil. It's well worth it."

Living in Chicago with his wife and two children, David describes himself as "actor, author, father, husband. In reverse order."